Mayor Pro Tem Karen Farrer and Councilmember Mikke Pierson have been appointed to chair the City Council’s Disaster Response and Recovery Ad Hoc Committee, which will hold its first public community meeting at 2 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 2, at Malibu City Hall (23825 Stuart Ranch Road).

“The City of Malibu remains committed to transparency and to actively seeking ways to improve our emergency planning and response capabilities, and I am confident that theAd Hoc Committee will further that goal,” Mayor Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner said. “That is even more important now, when we have suffered the worst natural disaster in the City’s history, and knowing that we will face earthquakes, wildfires and other disasters in the future.”

The committee will examine all aspects of the Woolsey Fire disaster in order to help the community and the City be better prepared for future disasters. All in the community are welcome to attend and share their stories, ideas and insights and ask questions.

“The community has suffered the biggest loss in its history,” Farrer said. “We must take this opportunity to evaluate our response for better preparedness. All are encouraged to share their experiences and offer suggestions.”

“Our goal is to help Malibu be better prepared for future disasters and we want to find solutions that are the right fit for our city and our residents,” Pierson said.

Anyone unable to attend the meeting on Feb. 2 may send stories, ideas, insights and questions to the Ad Hoc Committee by email to RecoveryAdHoc@MalibuCity.org. This new dedicated email address is exclusively accessible by the Committee Chairs. Farrer and Pierson invite all community members to use it to communicate with the Ad Hoc Committee at any time.

During the City Council meeting on Monday, Jan. 28, the council voted unanimously to provide funding for the committee to hold community meetings.